Native Commands vs. Extensions: Modeling a Bag of Chips

Sound familiar? That's the way so many questions start when someone asks for help with SketchUp. I almost always go with the standard answer of, "The best way to do it is the way that works best for you!" While this is true, it does beg the question: "Is it better to do with an extension?"

Well, let's dive in and answer that question! I figured I should take a shot at modeling something a little off the beaten path. I decided to model a bag of chips; once with native tools, only, and once with the help of extensions.

First up, modeling using only tools that can be found with a default installation of SketchUp Pro!

Native tools, only!

So... that went pretty well!

Now, let's take a look at how the whole process would change if I were to use a couple extensions. Specifically, these extensions:

When not supporting the sales team as a sales engineer, Aaron spends his free time designing things in SketchUp. That's it. That's all he does... oh, and he likes backpacking, skiing, drawing, painting, sculpting, and spending time with his family!